Written Answers Monday 12 October 2009

Scottish Executive

European Union

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis the Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution expects that an independent Scotland would be a net contributor to the European Union, as stated by him to the Europe and External Relations Committee on 29 September 2009 ( Official Report c. 1222).

Michael Russell: Annex B of the recently published National Conversation paper on Europe and Foreign Affairs sets out the background and methodology. This paper is available on the publications section of the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/09/08143726/0.

Health

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the number of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines and, if so, (a) by how many machines and (b) where they will be located.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is fundamental that patients who might benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) have access to it.

  On 1 October, UK health ministers agreed to double capacity at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, the UK’s ECMO centre. This decision was taken based on advice from the UK Critical Care Clinical Group, which had been asked to make recommendations on ECMO provision in the context of the current H1N1 pandemic. The group did not support the expansion of respiratory ECMO to hospital units that are not currently providing it.

  The additional costs of doubling ECMO capacity at Glenfield will be £2.33 million until March 2010 and funding will come from within the existing budget of the UK National Commissioning Group.

  In addition, an expert group is being set up to consider the future medium and long-term provision of ECMO treatment for adults in Scotland.

Health

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to increasing the NHS’s capacity to provide extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ahead of the winter and the anticipated increase in cases of influenza A (H1N1).

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Department of Health regarding the number of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines in the United Kingdom and the capacity to provide ECMO during a peak in cases of influenza A (H1N1).

Nicola Sturgeon: As I announced on 1 October, the UK health ministers have agreed to double capacity at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, the UK’s extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) centre. This decision was taken based on advice from the UK Critical Care Clinical Group, which had been asked to make recommendations on ECMO provision in the context of the current H1N1 pandemic.

  The group did not support the expansion of respiratory ECMO at hospital units that are not currently providing it.

  The additional costs of doubling ECMO capacity at Glenfield will be £2.33 million until March 2010 and funding will come from within the existing budget of the National Commissioning Group. Doubling capacity will take approximately two weeks to achieve.

Health

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines cost and what the associated staffing costs are.

Nicola Sturgeon: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a highly specialised technique demanding even higher levels of medical, nursing and technical/laboratory support than a Level 3 (Intensive Care Unit) facility, including double the number of nurses per traditional intensive care bed. An ECMO service therefore also has to have access to a large range of skills – including trained intensive care medical and nursing staff with specific expertise in ECMO, perfusionists, respiratory specialists, operating theatre support, laboratory services, physiotherapists and other physicians and surgeons, as well as numerous other services.

  The cost of an ECMO machine is approximately £40,000, taking into account fluctuating exchange rates, and an additional £4,000 per patient for required associated consumables.

  Staffing costs represent approximately two-thirds of the associated costs of running an ECMO service. Based on the provision of paediatric ECMO in Yorkhill in recent years, this currently equates to a fixed costs of approximately £810,000 per year, plus an additional £1,400 per patient per day for each day of ECMO treatment.

Health

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25381 by Nicola Sturgeon on 20 July 2009, whether it can now advise what proportion of NHS Lothian patients experiencing strokes was admitted to a specialist unit within 24 hours in 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is available from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit 2009 National Report , published on 29 September 2009.

  For the National Report:

  http://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/Downloads/files/2009%20Report/SSCA-report-2009-web.pdf.

  For the inpatient tables showing the percentage of stroke patients admitted to a stroke unit within one day:

  http://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/Downloads/files/2009%20Report/SSCA_2009_Hospital_Tables_Inpatients.xls.

  These inpatient tables indicate that in 2008, 54.8% of stroke patients in NHS Lothian were admitted to a stroke unit within one day.

  The following table shows the numbers of stroke patients admitted to a stroke unit in NHS Lothian within one day, for 2007-08. Figures are also shown for the NHS Lothian hospitals contributing to the Scottish Stroke Care Audit.

  Numbers and Percentages of Patients Admitted to a Stroke Unit Within One Day in NHS Lothian and NHS Lothian Hospitals

  

Year
Stroke Patients
NHS Lothian
ERI
SJH
WGH


2007
Number admitted within one day*
497
146
75
276


Number of patients admitted
953
356
194
403


Percentage admitted within one day
52.2
41
38.7
68.5


2008
Number admitted within one day
576
177
85
314


Number of patients admitted
1,051
397
218
436


Percentage admitted within one day
54.8
44.6
39
72



  Source: Scottish Stroke Care Audit 2009.

  Notes:

  *Patients admitted to hospital who are recorded as having entered any kind of stroke unit on the same date or the day after they were admitted.

  ERI - Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

  SJH - St John’s Hospital.

  WGH - Western General Hospital.

Ministerial Engagements

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school openings Scottish ministers have attended since 17 May 2007, broken down by (a) date (b) school and (c) local authority.

Keith Brown: Details of such school openings by Scottish ministers are set out in the following table:

  

Date
School
Local Authority


22 June 2007
Strathallan Primary, Kirkcaldy
Fife


28 September 2007
Simpson Primary, Bathgate
West Lothian


14 November 2007
Windygoul Primary, Tranent
East Lothian


11 January 2008
Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Primary, Inverness
Highland


25 January 2008
Mauchline Primary, East Ayrshire 
East Ayrshire


10 March 2008
Rothesay Campus
Argyll and Bute


9 May 2008
Lochgilphead Campus
Argyll and Bute


14 May 2008
Greenwood Academy, Irvine
North Ayrshire


21 May 2008
St Matthew’s Academy, Saltcoats
North Ayrshire


1 September 2008
Jordanhill School (South Building)
Grant-Aided


11 September 2008
Linwood High, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire


17 September 2008
Donaldson’s School, Linlithgow
Grant-Aided


12 November 2008
Sanderson's Wynd Primary, Tranent
East Lothian


14 November 2008
Wallace High, Stirling
Stirling


18 November 2008
Calderside Academy, Blantyre
South Lanarkshire


24 November 2008
Duloch Campus, Dunfermline 
Fife


26 January 2009
Alloway Primary, Ayr
South Ayrshire


23 February 2009
Galston Primary, East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire


6 February 2009
Dunning Primary, Perthshire
Perth and Kinross


28 September 2009
Armadale Academy, Armadale
West Lothian